Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.

CARTOON AND COLUMN: Big Biz buys into ballot initiatives

A century ago, special interests bought lawmakers. Now, thanks to the initiative process, they can just buy the laws.

In 22 states, citizens have the right to propose their own legislation, gather signatures to get them on the ballot and campaign to get them passed. This power of direct democracy was one of the great achievements of the Progressive Movement early in the 20th century. Back then, state legislators, as well as congressmen and U.S. senators, were a commodity bought and sold by corporate interests. The right to place measures directly on the ballot was a means to circumvent this corruption and pass laws that served the public, not private profit.

Now, 100 years later, though legislators spend an inordinate number of hours begging for campaign contributions from lobbying groups, there are rules that govern the process and keep it mostly honest, if unseemly. It’s no longer easy for a corporation to buy a politician outright. Ironically, they have found an alternative for bending the law their way: Pour money into ballot initiatives.

Once, citizens could assume an initiative was being put before them by civic-minded volunteers. The process of raising money and gathering petition signatures was challenging and, generally, only ideas with true popular support managed to get on the ballot. Today, however, initiative campaigns have become a business with paid signature gatherers and funding from well-heeled backers whose participation has little to do with doing good and everything to do with doing well.

With true intentions and funding sources carefully veiled, it’s not easy for voters to discern whose interests are being served by many ballot initiatives. If they are lucky, some high profile figure will blow a whistle, as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has done on the Texas oil interests who are pushing Proposition 23 to unravel California’s limits on greenhouse gas emissions.

Up north in the State of Washington, no one of similar prominence has spoken up to help citizens wade through a ballot jammed with initiatives, several of which look like Trojan horses built in board rooms.

One measure, Init. 1082, would let insurance companies get into the state’s workers compensation system. Ads touting this proposal make it sound as if it will free laborers from the boot of an oppressive state. In fact, says Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, it would put workers in the stingy clutches of profit-driven companies and exempt those companies from Washington’s Insurance Fair Conduct Act. This initiative is being funded by – surprise! – the insurance industry.

Then there is Init. 1107 that would repeal taxes on candy, soda, bottled water and other non-essential food items. Guess who is paying $10 million to buy this bit of legislation: The American Beverage Association.

Not just one, but two initiatives seek to end the state’s monopoly on liquor sales. Why two? Because one, Init. 1100, which is backed by Costco and other retailers, not only shuts down state liquor stores but also cuts out liquor distributors. The other, Init. 1105, is the brainchild of the distributors and keeps them in on the deal. Either initiative would be a bonanza for private liquor vendors, but neither one serves a compelling public interest, unless there’s a desperate need to let people buy their vodka and gin at all hours of the day or give teenagers a shot at scoring some Jack Daniels at a compliant convenience store.

And, just as Christmas comes every year, this election brings another of Tim Eyman’s perennial for-profit initiative campaigns. In a perversion of direct democracy, ex-wristwatch salesman Eyman has built a lucrative career for himself by becoming Washington State’s initiative king. And, this time around, his fee is being paid, not just by true-believing anti-government zealots, but by people with much deeper pockets.

Eyman’s Init. 1053 would require a two-thirds vote of the legislature for any tax increase. Opponents point to the governmental gridlock created in California by a similar requirement. But this isn’t just a debate about taxes and the power of a minority to control the legislature. It’s also about Big Oil.

The top contributor to Eyman’s initiative is BP, the British multinational responsible for the recent massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. Right behind BP in pumping cash to Eyman are three more oil industry players – Conoco, Equilon and one of the funders of Prop. 23, Tesoro.

What’s in it for them? Well, during the 2010 legislative session, oil industry lobbyists barely succeeded in stopping an increase in Washington’s Hazardous Substances Tax that would have paid for Puget Sound clean up, oil spill prevention and other programs to deal with oil-related pollution. If 1053 passes, the oil companies will be off the hook for that expense.

Initiatives were once a tool of reform. Now, they are fast becoming just another investment with a big dividend for those who can pay to play.

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.